For many years I have been involved in the parquet flooring block and tile industry and exemplary of previous patents that I have acquired in this field are U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,650,627, 2,961,021, 2,983,295, 3,118,804 and 3,128,511.
In one of my earlier patents, U.S. Pat. No. 2,983,361, I disclosed apparatus used in making parquet flooring blocks that disclosed what, at that time, was an improved method and apparatus for separating a long row of incoming slats into groups and subsequently conveying those groups on. In that device two parallel but transversely spaced apart conveying means were employed, one for moving slats into a metering area and a second for transferring metered groups of slats on toward further downstream processing areas. The metering of slats into those predetermined groups was accomplished by a transversely movable shuttle device that pushed or displaced a predetermined number of individual slats from one conveyor to the next. In that way, incoming slats could be effectively metered and formed into groups.
During the manufacture of parquet flooring blocks or tiles, it is common to employ a relatively long incoming line of individual slats in order to provide sufficient lead time to assure the slats are continuously available for processing notwithstanding the rate at which individual slats are cut to size. This relatively long line of individual slats must be separated into separate groups, each having a predetermined number of slats from which the blocks or tiles will be formed. These groups usually contain about seven individual slats but the number may vary to those needed for making blocks or tiles of any desired size. Likewise, it is important when forming these separate group of slats that the slats forming that group be kept in a proper horizontal registration not only so that they can be properly moved by downstream conveyors in a separate fashion but also because the finished blocks must be dimensioned properly to allow the blocks or tiles to be properly installed.
Slat forming machines as well as downstream processing equipment have become more efficient and accordingly, it has become more important to obtain better and more efficient means for forming the long line of individual slats into separated groups of a predetermined size while at the same time quickly establishing and maintaining the desired horizontal registration, in both the machine and cross machine direction so that both the speed and quality of feeding of those separate groups can be improved.
In the packaging field there are many examples of feed lines which employ overhead sweep type conveyors to aid in grouping items such as cans and boxes being packed. Exemplary devices are described in the following U.S. Pat., Nos. 2,805,755, 3,178,007, 3,194,382, and 3,424,293.
Most of these devices employ push rods connected to a chain mechanism with the push rod extending across the conveyor system thereby providing a pushing or restraining effect on the materials being moved.
There are also examples in the prior art of metering systems as are disclosed in U.S. Pat., Nos. 1,904,613, 2,815,848, and 3,747,739. In the first two fairly complicated mechanisms are disclosed to provide coordinated action between a presser foot type of stop member and a movable gate. The action of these two members is usually coordinated so that when the presser foot engages the articles being moved the gate releases articles previously held between the presser foot and the gate for further downstream travel. In each of these instances, however, the presser foot does not operate directly over a moving conveyor belt system but rather serves to push the article thereunder downwardly onto a stationary plate provided between upstream and downstream conveying systems. Control of such metering systems was found to be difficult in some instances and in U.S. Pat., No. 3,747,739 rather than completely stopping movement of the conveyed articles, the means for positioning and releasing articles is movable and articles are released to an accelerating device so that they are discharged at a speed greater than that of the incoming feed. Thus, the articles and the separation system itself are in motion.